Seven years for rapist who laughed at his victim

A rapist who laughed at his victim during the attack and called her a bitch was jailed for seven years yesterday.

Lovemore Dube, aged 25, was sentenced to nine years in prison with the last two suspended by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork.

“In the first instance, the accused committed an abuse of hospitality having been invited in to the injured party’s house,” said the judge.

“When he was left alone with his victim, he effected a long, gratuitously violent and gratuitously insulting rape which left the victim severely injured and severely traumatised.”

Mr Justice Carney said the rape was particularly upsetting as it had been carried out in the victim’s home where she was entitled to expect safety and sanctuary.

The judge also referred to the distress suffered by the victim at information that her rapist might have been HIV positive or had hepatitis and the fact it took time for medical tests to reassure her on this issue.

“She was finally upset to learn that the keys to her house were found in the accused’s property in prison.”

The judge first imposed a nine-year jail term but then said he was obliged to take into consideration that the defendant had pleaded guilty and that this had been done at the first opportunity.

“He also expressed genuine remorse. To take account of these factors, I suspend the final two years of the rape sentence on the accused entering into a bond set in the sum of €1,000 to keep away from his victim in perpetuity,” said the judge.

Garda Martin Butler said Dube had introduced himself to the injured party as her neighbour as she was opening the door of her apartment. Her fiancée and brother were inside and Dube was invited in for a few minutes. He left when the two men went to the airport to pick up relatives.

The victim heard a knock at the door a short time later and asked through the door if it was her fiancée. Dube pretended to be the other man and said yes, and she opened the door. That was when the violent 15-minute rape commenced.

“I feel like I have been handed a life sentence yet I committed no crime,” she said in her victim impact statement. “He pinned me down and began raping me viciously. He got rougher the more I pleaded to stop raping me. He bit my breasts and slapped me several time while he raped me. His eyes looked evil and they bored into me. He seemed to enjoy my suffering as he kept laughing.”

Leaving the witness box after delivering her victim impact statement, she turned to Dube and said: “I hope God will forgive you because I never will.”